Prescribing a more active life

A new effort launched by the AMA and American College of Sports Medicine urges physicians to take every opportunity to encourage their patients to exercise more.

Editorial. Dec. 24/31, 2007.

Don't be surprised if crowds suddenly descend on your health club or if the local mall experiences a dramatic uptick in sales of exercise gear.

Pledging to be more active and physically fit is, for many people, an annual rite of passage into the new year. And, of course, there is nothing wrong with making the decision to get off the couch. After all, physical inactivity and obesity are serious health issues, implicated in a range of chronic conditions. But resolving to become more active is only the beginning. It is what happens after the first few weeks of January are over that can transform the resolve into a healthier lifestyle.

A report published last month in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report offered some positive signs that such sustained efforts are happening more often. Specifically, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2001 to 2005 to examine the prevalence of regular, leisure-time physical activity among U.S. adults. Respondents were considered physically active if they did moderate-intensity exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week; vigorous-intensity activity for 20 minutes, three days a week; or both.

The researchers found that such rates of exercise increased 8.6% among women and 3.5% among men, to reach overall totals of 46.7% and 49.7% respectively. Racial and ethnic minorities also showed gains in levels of activity, although disparities still exist, and some pockets of the population are exercising much less frequently. Nevertheless, the bottom line is stark: In 2005, fewer than half the adult population engaged in recommended levels of physical activity. The nation's exercise levels are still falling short of the Healthy People 2010 exercise objective.